Televised Games 2012

[Charlie Darwin]

Still you fail to see the nonsense of your interminable idiotic responses.

Someone here previously has said RTE were not in a love-in with Shams - that's it in a nut-shell.

My replies are in relation to this point and some guff from you re Sky showing Man U etc because they are and ALWAYS (caps as you like to emphasise this word) biggest club blah, blah.

Comparisons are really odious but however, do you understand the various financial scales re games shown and FA dividend to clubs? If so, you might appreciate RTE are not in the same boat and therefore these Big Club considerations do not pertain.

If its down to pure commercialism, I suppose some guru in RTE has cracked the golden 'Burgers sold in the Square in McD's' v 'LOI advertising per second cost' ratio? Rich commercial pickings!!

You're missing the point.

You said Rovers are shown so much because of the Dublin-centric media.

Dodge pointed out that the most-shown teams in England (Manchester United), Germany (Bayern Munich) and Italy (Juventus) operate far without the centre of those countries. The English media is London-centric; the German media is Berlin-centric; the Italian media is Rome-centric. Yet in each country the team the media shows the most is located out of the capital, because they are the most popular and well-known team, just like Shamrock Rovers.

Dodge even presented you figures to demonstrate this.

I'm not sure what else you want.

[mypost]

This has already been cleared up. I assume you're the only one left laughing.

No need to laugh as I knew the situation all along.

So you compare combined Sky and terrestrial fees of English football to explain RTE's coverage of Shamrock Rovers and to explain's its national broadcaster remit - which in my opinion, is

Just nonsense.

Throw me a link over Italian TV -- I couldn't give a monkey's about any of them, but go knock yourself out son!

Haven't a clue what all this back-and-forth nonsense is in aid of, but anyway;

There is no agenda, for or against clubs at any point. Fact is there are 6 league weeks to go. At the end of the season in an event junkie culture like in Ireland, tv broadcasters just want to show the league game(s) that decide the championship. They don't care if it's Sligo Rovers or Shamrock Rovers, nor whether they've been on tv five times or fifteen times during the year. Last year it was us, this year it's Sligo who have all the tv coverage and the ko changes to go with it.

The other clubs are free to get on with their own games, as normal.

[shellyriver]

Haven't a clue what all this back-and-forth nonsense is in aid of, but anyway;

There is no agenda, for or against clubs at any point. Fact is there are 6 league weeks to go. At the end of the season in an event junkie culture like in Ireland, tv broadcasters just want to show the league game(s) that decide the championship. They don't care if it's Sligo Rovers or Shamrock Rovers, nor whether they've been on tv five times or fifteen times during the year. Last year it was us, this year it's Sligo who have all the tv coverage and the ko changes to go with it.

The other clubs are free to get on with their own games, as normal.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2012/...irtricity_rte/

The difference is this was all pre-determined at the start of the season. If you're logic is right then Sligo Rovers should figure in virtually ever broadcasted game and this should continue if the Bit-A-Red storms to a back-to-back league win -- which, other supporters would rightly and understandably object to. It hardly serves a high purpose either in the promotion of the LOI in Ireland to engorge on one side. But just typical Oirish monoculture obsession - the Catholic Church, the potatoe, the ideologically and business-bankrupt fixation with the building boom, whatever seems successful, just keep it going 'til it runs out of steam!

Although its now water under the bridge, the above link may give those interested some idea as to the sickening saturation Shams coverage RTE bestowed upon viewers at the beginning of this season - no other national broadcaster would indulge this level of preferential treatment of one club.

Irrespective of whether RTE had an agenda or not - whatever their rationale was it was ridiculous on any index.

But what could you really expect from the rugger gois and GAA-fanatics at Donnybrook TV? Now that the season is in the final furlong its understandable that the top three teams would figure in the last number of televised games to do otherwise would be utterly bizarre, that's not beyond their grasp.

[Charlie Darwin]

Actually stunned that you've managed to link RTE's coverage of Shamrock Rovers with the Catholic Church and the housing bubble.

Yes, it was decided early last season that Rovers would feature in most televised games, because Rovers are the most successful, most popular and most well-known team in the league and had just come off the best European run ever achieved by an Irish side. And Rovers-Bohs is still the biggest game on the Irish football calendar regardless of either side's misfortunes.

So it is perfectly reasonable for a TV station that relies on advertising (they **** the license fee away) to select what it sees as the most commercially-viable fixtures to show. Setanta Sports does the same thing. Now that Sligo are winning the league, their games are the most commercially attractive, and they will probably be much better represented in the early fixtures next year after they win the title. But Rovers will still be considered more commercially attractive because they have more fans and a much stronger appeal to casual viewers.

[mypost]

The difference is this was all pre-determined at the start of the season. If you're logic is right then Sligo Rovers should figure in virtually ever broadcasted game and this should continue if the Bit-A-Red storms to a back-to-back league win -- which, other supporters would rightly and understandably object to.

no other national broadcaster would indulge this level of preferential treatment of one club.

RTE are in the relatively rare broadcasting position among UEFA nations, of having almost carte blanche to show how many or few games of any club they wish, so naturally they want to show the bigger clubs more often than Bray and UCD.

When Sligo were in the other division years ago, tv didn't want to know. When we were in the other division, tv didn't want to know. Now the clubs are up at the top of the Premier Division. RTE just want to show the main games of the season, starting with the champions first game, the major derbies, the league battle, then the relegation scrap, then the European spots. If it's all already settled, they go back to whoever the league champions are. Next year, the league champions first game will automatically be live at 7pm on RTE.

What other supporters think of it all, is of no consequence.

[pineapple stu]

When we were in the other division, tv didn't want to know.

Wrong, actually. I remember games against Galway and Athlone (possibly a Cup game?) being shown live.

[Martinho II]

Wrong, actually. I remember games against Galway and Athlone (possibly a Cup game?) being shown live.

yep you are right tg4 showed the shamrock rovers athlone game in 2006 in Bucaneers ground in Athlone and I was at it!

[PartySaint]

yep you are right tg4 showed the shamrock rovers athlone game in 2006 in Bucaneers ground in Athlone and I was at it!

Cup quarter final. We played Rovers in the semi's.

[mypost]

Wrong, actually. I remember games against Galway and Athlone (possibly a Cup game?) being shown live.

Right actually. Broadcasters did not show any Shamrock Rovers league games live in 2006. RTE showed one Cup semi-final live. TG4 showed 2 other Cup games live. That was it.

[pineapple stu]

They're closely enough linked that the same arguments can cover two channels. It's not dissimilar to arguing the difference between RTÉ1 and RTÉ2. TG4 is a public service broadcaster as well. RTÉ even provides some programming for TG4.

I don't recall any other First Division v First Division Cup games being shown in recent years. It's not true to say that -

When we were in the other division, tv didn't want to know.

[nigel-harps1954]

They're closely enough linked that the same arguments can cover two channels. It's not dissimilar to arguing the difference between RTÉ1 and RTÉ2. TG4 is a public service broadcaster as well. RTÉ even provides some programming for TG4.

I don't recall any other First Division v First Division Cup games being shown in recent years. It's not true to say that -

Harps against Athlone was shown in 2007 in a league game in the First Division. It's only in the past 3 or 4 years that the First Division has recieved absolutely zero coverage in fairness. There's always been the title run in shown on highlights shows, and the odd title run in live game here and there.

[mypost]

They're closely enough linked that the same arguments can cover two channels.
I don't recall any other First Division v First Division Cup games being shown in recent years.

I'm not on about cup games. The cup has always attracted it's own attention, live cup games have been shown featuring lower division sides before, and will be in the future. Even St. Francis were shown live when they reached the Cup final.

If you want to link them close enough then you can, but I don't need to link anything as I know what happened. So for the third time, there were NO live league games featuring Shamrock Rovers in 2006. I was at all 4 games against Galway that year and remember them all. None of them were live on national television. End of argument.

[Trainee]

TG4 did show some Div one games about 5 years ago they had 4 or 5 first div games, some cup games & Playoff final

[Dodge]

And funnily enough TG4 showed a western bias for those games.

[El-Pietro]

Harps against Athlone was shown in 2007 in a league game in the First Division. It's only in the past 3 or 4 years that the First Division has recieved absolutely zero coverage in fairness. There's always been the title run in shown on highlights shows, and the odd title run in live game here and there.

last game of the season? the day Cobh won the division yeah? I remember watching that - or a first division game

[shellyriver]

And funnily enough TG4 showed a western bias for those games.

So you see it works both ways!

I never knew the Bit-A-Red were Ruairi Shligigh (actually should be Sligeach - as its Sligo town - but mehh) until TnaG showed us in the First Division.

Fond memories of tuning into local radio and turning TV sound off and watching us play.

I also remember seeing us getting perpetually hammered by Shams and enjoying the fine panoramic sweeps from the single-camera, along with savouring the wonderful post-match commentary from Charlie McGeever doing a fine impersonation of the Wee Daniel of the Soccer World - halycon days

Is it fair to say the success of TnaG's Irish soccer coverage could have prompted the Montrose Sports Muppets to eventually give us a TV segment (those boys in TnaG are always ahead of the posse, Oz, Curb, Breaking Bad and beautiful Gaelgoir weathergirls) etc, etc.

Back to to reality, do any of the Sligo posters know if the Rovers-Derry game was ever to be televised? If so, I personally am glad as it would reduce the attendance by, I would estimate, 1,000.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

It's live on Setanta

[shellyriver]

It's live on Setanta

Cheers - do you think this will affect attendance by much?

If we get 3,500 there is would be brilliant.

[nigel-harps1954]

last game of the season? the day Cobh won the division yeah? I remember watching that - or a first division game

A cold November night yes.

It's the last time Harps went on a similar unbeaten run to this season. RTÉ cameras came up this day, and I recall Roddy Collins calling Stephen Parkhouse overweight which Harps fans didn't take kindly to.
Roddy got a great reception that day overall if I remember right.

Harps played great football all that season. And this game turned out to be nothing but complete muck.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Cheers - do you think this will affect attendance by much?

If we get 3,500 there is would be brilliant.

We should get that. There was over 3k at the Bohs game on a wet Monday night and that was on TV as well. Hopefully Derry bring a good crowd as well.